Stephanie (Amber Heard) and Ellie's (Odette Yustman) vacation to an exotic village in Argentina is a perfect 'girl's getaway' to bask in the sun, shop and flirt with the handsome locals. After a long night of bar-hopping,… MoreStephanie (Amber Heard) and Ellie's (Odette Yustman) vacation to an exotic village in Argentina is a perfect 'girl's getaway' to bask in the sun, shop and flirt with the handsome locals. After a long night of bar-hopping, the girls get into an argument, and Stephanie heads out alone in the morning to cool off. But when she returns, Ellie has disappeared. Finding signs of a struggle, Stephanie fears the worst, and turns to the police for help. But the local authorities have their hands full already - with a string of unsolved kidnappings targeting young female tourists. Skeptical of the sheriff's competency, she enlists help from Michael (Karl Urban), an American ex-pat staying at their hotel. Together they go on a frantic search for Ellie, but Stephanie soon realizes that trusting his seemingly good intentions may drag her farther from the truth. With danger mounting, and time running out, Stephanie must find her friend before darkness falls.-- (C) Anchor Bay

An ok remake of a film from 1970 with the same name. This one is set in Argentina, which seems to be the only real change. The fact I not heard of it and it was… MoreAn ok remake of a film from 1970 with the same name. This one is set in Argentina, which seems to be the only real change. The fact I not heard of it and it was made last year and stars the lovely Amber Heard was a worry. Sure enough this is largely a fairly slow, dull, drama/thriller about the perils of being off the beaten track if you're not careful. The last 3rd of the film was ok as we finally get some action, but it has a made for TV feel to it. There have been many better horror films on a similar theme with Turistas and Hostel, Train. For a thriller I would go with either Hush or Shuttle. Even Amber Heard fans might find this too slow.

Lorenzo von Matterhorn

<i>"Alone. Stranded. No One to Trust."</i>
When two American girls on a bike trip in a remote part of Argentina split up and one of… More<i>"Alone. Stranded. No One to Trust."</i>
When two American girls on a bike trip in a remote part of Argentina split up and one of them goes missing, the other must find her before her worst fears are realized.
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The film never tries to elevate the genre that it is in, nor make it interesting. And Soon The Darkness manages to follow the footpath of every film before it, thus making it boring and predictable. First we have our two female characters. One is obviously a trouble maker and the rebel, while the other is more conservative. Guess which one gets herself kidnapped and which one has to rise to the occasion to get her friend back? The two female characters are played by Odette Yustman and Amber Heard, they fit their roles of attractive young females. The roles don't call for anything beyond that really.
There are no surprises, you know from the moment you see the characters, who is responsible for what. The film tries to be clever to throw a curveball, but as I mentioned before, we have seen this type of film before and it's obvious where it was going. The film even lacks suspense. The kidnapping scene is poorly done, the climax is also a third rate cat and mouse game. The film fails to create any tension and that was a key element missing from here. Too many things were left unanswered for me. The two people who ran the hotel, do they know anything? Are they in on it? Does the wife try to warn them, but the husband put her in her place? Who knows.

Lewis C.

And Soon the Darkness is a servicable "vacation gone bad" thriller. The two lead actresses are VERY pleasant to look at. They bike and sunbathe and… MoreAnd Soon the Darkness is a servicable "vacation gone bad" thriller. The two lead actresses are VERY pleasant to look at. They bike and sunbathe and run very prettily. But the story is so predictable that it's almost comical, the bad guys and plot twists are apparent from the very beginning, and the protagonists make decisions so stupid that they almost seem to ask for the situation that they get involved in.
You should be very familiar with this kind of plot by now. A pair of attractive young American tourists (Odette Yustman and Amber Heard) get separated from their bike tour group in Argentina, meet some suspicious people, get separated from each other, and then one of them goes missing. They're not the smartest of tourists, that's for sure.
Even if you can stand the by-the-numbers plot (for Odette Yustman, I can accept a LOT of cliches and obvious plot twists), And Soon the Darkness isn't a very thrilling thriller. There's not a lot of creativity or imagination to it, it's just the same movie we've seen before with some new faces. Watch it if you're a fan of Yustman or Heard, but don't expect a lot.

Ryan Marshall

* out of ****
Most who see 2010's "And Soon the Darkness" will not know that it's a close remake of a 70's film of the same name.… More* out of ****
Most who see 2010's "And Soon the Darkness" will not know that it's a close remake of a 70's film of the same name. This is only appropriate, given that the original film had vanished into obscurity almost instantly after it was allowed a release, and deservedly so. I saw the 1970 "And Soon the Darkness" not too long ago - and not because I heard of the remake first - yet I can't quite remember a whole lot of it aside from the main points. Oh, well; that was all I needed to make some connections between the "original" and the remake. They have quite a bit in common; same basic plot and set-up, same genre, same intent, same twist, same quality. The only differences are the change of location (the original was set in France; this one takes place entirely in Argentina) and a little bit of nationality swapping amongst the film's central characters (they were originally British; here they are 100 percent American).
If there's one thing I hate more than a movie in which nothing happens; it's a movie that thinks it has something going for it, yet it really doesn't. Such was the case with the 1970 original; same goes for this unnecessary remake. The film is about a duet of hot American backpackers (Odette Yustman and Amber Heard) that does indeed stop by Argentina for a night. They embrace the freedom by visiting a local bar and enjoying a night of heavy drinking and for one of them at least, romance as well; meeting up once again in the morning to catch the 8 AM bus back home.
The alcohol comes with quite the kick; and causes the girls to sleep in just a tad too late. They miss their bus and are forced to stay in Argentina for at least a few more days. They decide to make the best of it with a little sun-bathing; which goes horribly wrong when they split up after a heated verbal exchange of unfriendly proportions, with one returning to the spot after apologizing, only to find the other has disappeared.
We know what has happened. We see the girl being dragged away by some long-haired man; presumably of considerable strength. But of course, the other girl does not know this; and that is why she is ignorant enough to ask the local police for assistance, only to get nothing in return. Instead, she is accompanied on her journey to find her friend by an odd but friendly man named Michael (Karl Urban), whose girlfriend went missing in these areas some time ago.
As you can see, "And Soon the Darkness" plays out like a thriller and therefore must be labeled as one; although upon having seen it, I can assure you that there isn't a single thrilling or particularly suspenseful moment in it. Given that I was able to remember whatever I could from when I saw the original film, the outcomes were predictable; and it sure doesn't help that the film is just so absolutely and utterly incompetent anyways. You don't have to see the original for all the entertainment value of the remake to be drained directly from it; you just need to know what makes a good thriller and what doesn't.
If you're willing to sit through 90 minutes of stupid women and clueless men chattering away like it's their business to do so; then "And Soon the Darkness" may be your cup of tea. Also, if you enjoy cheap endings and lame excuses for thrills, it might appeal to you just the same. But I know what I like; and I don't like watching a movie where there are dozens of moments that occur every half-hour in which something intended to be ominous and atmospheric shows up, only to rear its ugly head and give us a damn good look at its unimpressive self. I also don't like bad acting, uninspired direction, pitifully predictable plots, and absurdity that goes almost completely uncalled for. Some films are ridiculous, and they know it; this one acts as if it's completely unaware, or perhaps it isn't acting at all. Maybe it really, truly, honestly, from the bottom of its heart does not have a clue. Wouldn't be much of a surprise to me.

Japes .

Amber Heard puts on a good performance, but this movie sucked.
The plot is so shallow; the movie is just boring. Two girls go vacationing in a foreign… MoreAmber Heard puts on a good performance, but this movie sucked.
The plot is so shallow; the movie is just boring. Two girls go vacationing in a foreign country and one goes missing. The locals are suspicious looking and seem like they're hiding something. It's all been done before.
The sub plots in this movie seem interesting like the Urban's character Michael whose girlfriend was abducted some months ago, and Stephanie's boyfriend/trust issues, but those sub plots are painfully shallow and are only lightly touched upon in the film. It was completely useless to even add any of it.
The movie is pretty much Heard running around screaming "ELLIE WHERE ARE YOU?" and trying to survive from being killed by the corrupt locals. The plot in the beginning shows that the locals are hiding a secret, and I was actually interested to know what that secret was. However after I found out the secret was ***SPOILER*** selling tourist girls into prostitution, I was like seriously? I've already seen Taken thanks. What a predictable and boring secret to keep. I didn't like that secret at all. So dumb and I've seen it before.

Ken Stachnik

Stupid people do stupid things and get themselves in trouble. Mostly just boring and tedious. Karl Urban isn't terrible, he just has nothing to do. Could… MoreStupid people do stupid things and get themselves in trouble. Mostly just boring and tedious. Karl Urban isn't terrible, he just has nothing to do. Could work as a how-to-get-raped/kidnapped-while-on-vacation informational video.

Martin Bishop

Yet another terrorized tourist thriller, this one short on the thrills - especially in the entire first hour. There's a reason it never made it to… MoreYet another terrorized tourist thriller, this one short on the thrills - especially in the entire first hour. There's a reason it never made it to theaters.
... and why is Karl Urban even (barely) in this?

Jesse Ortega

This wasn't a very good movie. I don't really have a lot to say. It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, in the sense that I was never… MoreThis wasn't a very good movie. I don't really have a lot to say. It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, in the sense that I was never offended by the movie. But there's really nothing interesting going on in the movie. And no Amber and Odette in bikinis doesn't count because I can just easily Google it and find the pictures. The thing with the movie is that it had that low-budget direct to dvd feel. It's just very minimalist in all fronts. And I'm sure it wasn't by choice like a Jim Jarmusch film. The movie just does absolutely nothing worth noting. It's an incredibly lifeless thriller, that really fails on the thriller side of it. I wouldn't recommend this movie at all.

Cynthia S.

For the most part, I liked this slightly suspenseful tourist-in-peril film, but films like TURISTAS and HOSTEL have done the Americans in peril abroad plot to… MoreFor the most part, I liked this slightly suspenseful tourist-in-peril film, but films like TURISTAS and HOSTEL have done the Americans in peril abroad plot to death (pun intended), and actually much better. The film does have its positives though, and its relatively entertaining for what it sets out to do.

KJ Proulx

It is absolutely pointless, but it's one hell of a fun ride! It keeps you on the edge of your seat even though the acting is laughable and the story is… MoreIt is absolutely pointless, but it's one hell of a fun ride! It keeps you on the edge of your seat even though the acting is laughable and the story is completely unoriginal. It is a movie to watch even if you have better movies to watch, because even though you have seen something like this before, it still has a few twists that you do not see coming at all. Karl Urban plays a character in which you are lead to believe he one thing, but then proves to be another. For this movie, that was a high point. It's not bad, and it's not good, it just falls somewhere in the middle. And coming from Taken (Odette Yustman) and Never Back Down (Amber Heard), I expected much more than good looks from these young actors.

Todd Smith

Human trafficking is one of the most scary and abhorrent realities of our society. While it happens in many places, for many reasons, and in many different… MoreHuman trafficking is one of the most scary and abhorrent realities of our society. While it happens in many places, for many reasons, and in many different ways, filmmakers only seem to see the obvious. Once again we have a film about two girls traveling abroad, when one is abducted for the purposes of being sold as a sex slave. And Soon The Darkness is simply the same story as Taken and Hostle, with several small difference. In this film, only one girl goes missing, while the other teams up with a good samaritan, to try and find her. As always American girls are at a premium and the trail leads her to a vile underground of deceit and deception in a third world country. As far as abduction films go, this one was pretty unrealistic. How many young American girls, travel alone, to remote locations in third world countries, rather than staying at the resort or with some tour group. Second, there are a ton of American's in this supposedly secluded area, that doesn't have anything close to what could be considered a tourist attraction. And Soon The Darkness features an adequate cast, and of course, two very good looking girls, wearing as little as possible, but as far as substance and originality go, this film was severly lacking in both.

Daniel Parsons

Just occasionally, this rehash of a forgotten 70's horror/thriller has an interesting turn, a twist that makes sense, an unexpected moment where a… MoreJust occasionally, this rehash of a forgotten 70's horror/thriller has an interesting turn, a twist that makes sense, an unexpected moment where a character does or says something that feels real. Amber Heard (who starred in the underrated slasher deconstruction "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane") is an actor of considerable talent and her performance is good, there's a superb music score, and some pretty photography. Unfortunately, the film is just as often derivative, predictable, and dull, and there isn't enough in the story or the characters situations to make this gripping or involving.